Hi, I'm Lucien Letvinchuk, a student from RSS
My Learning Story
I’m Lucien, and ever since I was young I loved the idea of electronics, growing up my parents didn’t let me have much access to any type of electronics. We didn’t even have a TV in the house. However, when I joined E-School in grade 5 that changed since being on a computer was a large part of my learning. E-School taught me to manage my own time since a lot of the assignments were self-directed. Also later in grade 5, I joined my school's robotics team. I’d stay in the robotics program right until I left E-School in grade 9. Joining the robotics team helped me in a lot of ways, it built awesome teamwork skills and most importantly it introduced me to the world of coding. We’d go to competitions and our school would do extremely well every single time. Sadly I never took home first, however, we always lost to someone else from our school.
Once I moved past E-School to RSS in grade 10 I naturally gravitated towards the computer-based courses. I took Video Game Dev in grade 10 as well as Gateway to Tech, a dual credit program at Okanagan College. In grade 11 I took cyber security and computer science 11 and now in grade 12, I’m taking computer science 12 and computer science AP. All of these classes I’ve done extremely well so far. Midway through grade 11 my computer science teacher (Mr Relova) recommended me for a job. The job is a contract position where I work my own hours and get paid extremely well. My love and skills for computer science have only grown since its introduction and I’m excited to see where it lands me next, as I plan on majoring in it at University as soon as I get out of high school.
My other main passion besides computer programming is rock climbing. Winding back a little, during E-School we’d go on various field trips. One of these field trips was to a climbing gym which soon found a love for. I ended up getting a monthly pass and going consistently for the next year or so. Sadly when COVID hit I stopped going. However, in October of 2023, I decided to give it another try and have been climbing consistently 3-4 days a week since then. It’s my main form of physical activity and I’ve met a lot of new and cool people through it.
My Core Competency Map
I can think outside the box to solve problems
During both Computer Science 11 and 12 I actively practiced problem solving. As well as coming up with ideas for games. Brainstorming different ways to create efficient algorithms and building on top of existing programs to add additional functionality or features.
I can gather diverse evidence from a variety of perspectives before making a decision.
A big way I did this was when picking out what car I was going to purchase. I was initially looking at first-generation Porsche Boxsters, however, after doing various research online as well as talking to the manager of the Porsche Dealership and my Uncle who was a car salesman for many years I decided against it as they are too expensive to repair and maintain. I ended up purchasing a 1998 BMW Z3 instead, a very similar car but a lot more reliable.
I can reflect on my learning and experiences and adjust my actions accordingly.
I demonstrated reflective thinking during my 20-hour project last school year in Careers 11. I was able to create an in-depth presentation which I presented in front of the class. I showed what I learned and how I learned it. As well as my inspiration and motivation for photography.
I can participate in conversations with a mentor around my future goals (career pathway)
Me and my Computer Science Teacher Mr Relova had a conversation talking about my options for University as well as my plans and backup plans. He guided me on options for applying for scholarships as well as additional information about Universities. We also discussed my plans after I graduated from University, different job opportunities, etc. And he recommended that I stick with my current online job throughout university.
I can create effective communications for a variety of audiences.
In order to communicate effectively with my colleagues and supervisor, I connect through email as well as Zoom to communicate thoughts, ideas, and information about my work and projects within the Company. This includes update meetings, and frequent emails to make sure things are being completed correctly and to the best of my abilities.
I can confidently interact and build relationships within a group to further shared goals.
In school, I work within groups for various projects In English, specifically with my friend and classmate Kyle. We work extremely well together, completing group assignments on time and completing them best of our abilities. In physics, we often work in groups to figure out solutions to problems and assignments.
I can interact with others respectfully.
In my various classes, I always try to help out students who are struggling or confused. Most of the time this is in Computer Science, as I often get my work done quite quickly in that class and spend the rest of my time working ahead or helping others. I always make sure to be positive and encouraging when helping to make sure the other person feels supported.
I can interact with the environment respectfully.
I interact with the environment respectfully when I go on adventures and hikes with my friends and siblings. When I go bouldering outdoors, we are always very cautious to stay on the designated trail as well as clean up any trash or garbage we see left behind.
I can take action for positive, sustainable change for others and/or the environment.
I can take action for positive suitable change for the environment when purchasing my car. The specific car that I purchased had 2 versions made, a 4-cylinder version and a 6-cylinder version. I bought the 4-cylinder version because it's a lot more efficient on fuel and therefore better for the environment.
I can recognize what makes me happy.
I rediscovered rock climbing in 2023 and dragged one of my friends along with me. Once we started going regularly I noticed an improvement in my overall mental health and physical wellness. I also met a lot more friends through our mutual shared interest in climbing. It gives me something fun to do while staying active, fit, and social.
I can recognize my strengths and use strategies to focus, manage stress and accomplish my goals.
I often set small but SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals for myself each month and almost always complete them. One month I only drank water, completely cutting any other drink. For the entire summer, I removed all social media from my phone and got my daily phone usage down to 1 hour and 30 minutes (before this it was around 4-6 hours.) Another thing I’ve done before with friends is set to step challenges, where we raced to see who could achieve a certain amount of steps first (which I won) motivating not only myself but others around me.
I can take responsibility for my choices, actions and achievements.
I am taking responsibility for my actions when I choose to purchase a vehicle (which costs a lot). So my parents did not need to drive me around everywhere and I could enjoy some freedom. I am taking responsibility for this by holding three different jobs to not rely on my parents for gas and entertainment money. Additionally, my car transports me to 2 of these various jobs.
Core Competency Reflection
When I looked at my Learning Map, I noticed a few things about myself. I enjoy working collaboratively with others and helping out when I can. I am good at self-motivation, especially when it comes to something I enjoy or a challenge I set for myself. I tend to think things through very well before I act. My strongest core competency is gathering diverse evidence from a variety of perspectives before making a decision. I am very level-headed and often take time to think things over; I don’t impulse buy or make risky decisions on the fly. On the other hand, my weakest core competency is thinking outside the box to solve problems. While I may think a lot before making decisions, once my mind is set, it's often hard to persuade me to change it or consider a different angle.
My Future Path
My first plan is to go to The University of Victoria, to study Computer Science. I will be staying in housing on campus for my first year. My parents have most of the money saved for me to go to University however I will pitch in and pay for what I can, I plan to keep one of my current jobs which is fully online in which I will work part-time while attending Uvic.
My Second plan is very similar, if Uvic is unrealistic for whatever reason I will stay in Kelowna and study at UBCO (again for Computer Science) and live with my parents during this time. Possibly transferring to Uvic in a later year if I am financially able to.
Finances
This is my Mentor
My mentor is my friend Chris Rice, he graduated KSS last year and has been a huge help in providing information and encouragement when applying to University. He currently is studying music but he originally planned and applied for Computer Science & Engineering at Uvic. He may have switched to a different form of learning late, however by this point he had already applied and got accepted at Uvic, so he was able to help me out with my application, as well as provide encouragement and various helpful insights. He was also the person who initially suggested I should go to Uvic. And after I did some research on my own it seemed like a clear straightforward choice for me. He has been nothing but supportive, kind, and helpful in my decisions for post-secondary and moving forward with my life.
Vlog 1
Vlog 2
Required Sessions
For my required sessions, I attended the first Capstone session, as well as 2 lunch sessions where I made sure to check with my Teacher that I was on track to complete everything. For my final session, I met with my careers teacher to make sure my Capstone was up to date and ready to present.
My Project Info
My Capstone project is the very website you are looking at right now. I knew I wanted to do something coding-related since it's something I'm passionate about and what I plan on pursuing as a career later in life. So I landed on this website as my Capstone Project. It was my first time making a website using React.js, Next.js, Typescript and working with complex web frameworks. Previous websites I had made in the past were pretty simple, coded with javascript HTML, and CSS. I took the knowledge from those previous projects and with the help of a guide on Youtube created the website you see here now. It took me a couple of weeks and several setbacks, the biggest being the project getting corrupted several hours into development. I started off closely following a YouTube guide, however, as I got more comfortable with the coding language and understood more of what I was doing I started to branch off and customize the website to my liking. I used several design libraries to create some of the more complicated parts of the website as coding that from scratch was way past my skill level. I felt like I learned a lot during the design of this website I definitely have a decent grasp on Typescript as well as React.js and I'm very happy with how the website turned out.